Revving up Mahindra: Behind the automaker's brand new strategy to propel growth

An outside-in perspective very often yields good results as far as strategic changes in an organisation are concerned. In the case of the Rs 1.75-lakh crore auto-to-software Mahindra Group, this came in the form of Group MD & CEO Anish Shah, 53. Shah, who had stints in GE Capital and Bain & Company, took charge at Mahindra in 2021 after joining the group in 2014. One of the key areas where Shah has been able to make an impact is in the auto business, a critical part of the group and one that contributes close to Rs 60,000 crore to its top line. Over the past couple of years, Mahindra has seen its auto business get infused with a good dose of new energy, powered by a slew of new launches, a focus on electric vehicles and even a brand new logo. 

Shah and his colleague Rajesh Jejurikar, ED & CEO of Mahindra’s auto and farm sector businesses, are clear that they will do fewer things but do them well. “We focussed on our core, that is authentic SUVs, with the aim of being the No. 1 SUV player,” Shah tells Prerna Lidhoo, who put together the cover story and the Auto Special package in this issue. This sharp focus seems to be working for Mahindra. Its market share in SUVs, which was at 13.6 per cent in FY21, has grown to 19.1 per cent in just two years. This share, Shah declares, should only go up from here on. Besides, there’s the Born Electric range of SUVs where Mahindra aims to be the leader “by far”. But competition is hardly sitting idle, with Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Hyundai, Kia and Toyota planning their moves as the UV battle heats up like never before, with utility vehicles now overtaking passenger car sales in the Indian market. Besides, the recent GST Council decision on a compensation cess on all multi-utility vehicles is another blow Mahindra will have to navigate. 

Mahindra apart, the auto package also has several other stories: Chetan Bhutani examines the impact of the paring of the FAME II subsidy scheme on EV sales, while Arnab Dutta finds out how Chinese automakers MG Motor and BYD are tackling the government’s close watch on investments from China. We also get you the details of the battle playing out in the premium motorcycles segment, as Royal Enfield is challenged by the likes of Bajaj Auto (which has tied up with Triumph) and Hero MotoCorp, the Indian partner for Harley-Davidson. 

Away from the heat and dust in the auto sector, Anand Adhikari does a deep dive into the slew of problems plaguing the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, once hailed as the big reform sweeping through the corporate and banking sectors. And Krishna Gopalan gets you the behind the-scenes action at Reliance Life Sciences, which could become Mukesh Ambani’s next big bet. I would also urge you to read Rahul Kanwal’s conversation with Ruchir Sharma, the Founder of Breakout Capital, who holds forth on the economy, the PLI scheme, AI and much more. There’s lots in this issue, so read on.